I was presently surprised at just how good this movie is. Going in, I knew it was a musical about the origins of the character of Willy Wonka, but not much else. This is a wonderfully charming movie with a colorful cast and a great visual style. The musical aspect of the film was the part I was the most skeptical about, but it actually wasn't half bad. This isn't going to be a "classic" musical, as most of the songs are pretty forgettable, but the songs are servicable and few enough to not be annoying. The singing from Timmy is actually pretty good too, another thing I didn't know he could do. The visuals are excellent, with a clear visual style permeating throughout the film and being the best part of the movie in my opinion. There are so many beautiful colors and hues mixed with a constructed town that has a lot of life to it. I still am trying to figure out just how much CGI was used in the film, I suspect that there was a lot of it used for backgrounds and various setpieces, but if it was there it's barely noticeable. The comedy is another high point of the movie. It's often not laugh-out-loud funny, but the movie is very self aware and delivers many great jokes with excellent timing. I was worried that Wonka would try to ride on the popularity of the other movies too much through references and such, but this is a super original take on both Wonka and the world around him. This is no cash grab; the story and characters are well written and likeable, with a pretty good plot to go along with the flashy music, visuals, and settings. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes musicals, and even those who don't. It's a wonderful, happy film that is an enjoyable watch.